Stepping stones

Ive been thinking about Gods will lately. So many things seem to affect it. It seems mans option to choose seems to stand in the way. Other times it seems that what you thought was Gods will, turns into a crazy winding path that doesn't resemble any thing you thought it would. Sometimes in my life, I have been so sure of things. I knew without a doubt what God wanted me to do. But then circumstances changed and things didn't turn out as I thought. It was painful instead of  glorious. It was disappointing instead of exciting. Does this mean  I missed God? No. It doesn't mean that at all! IN fact, sometimes things change because there is something God needs to teach us before we are ready to go to the next stepping stone in life. And, after all, everything we do and very where we go are just stepping stones , taking us  one step closer to where He wants us. Steps closer to Home, in fact.
      Boy, some of the stepping stones are slick. Some are jagged. They aren't  all  pretty and ornate. They aren't all beautifully decorated for all to enjoy. Some are not fun in the least!!! But because our Lord knows everything, and has a perfect plan, each stepping stone on our path of life was lovingly placed at exactly the right place. Its the exact stone we need at that moment. Whether its an ugly, crude stone designed to make us call out to God for help, or a pretty stone that is full of beauty and happiness, we can trust that God has placed it there for us. Plans to make us better. Plans to prosper us. Jeremiah 29:11  Keep trusting Him.

The dogs in our lives....

We broughtt Finn home yesterday. Boy is he soft and cuddly. So far he just wants to cuddle. Yay! His puppy pad aim needs improvement. But I'm sure he will gee better.

Then there are the schnauzers. We still have one pup available. Poor cookie..... we haven't told he she hasn't sold, unlike her siblings. She is happy and I don't thing there is any reason to disrupt her happiness. They are growing and getting very playful.


NIA and Stormy, chilling out.

 Below is cookie. She still needs a home. Who could resist this face?????

Breeze is going to the vet next week, along with Dixon, and getting fixed. Then she will be ready to go to her new home. In about 2 weeks the pups will be old enough to leave!

A very yummy treat!

Ok. I'm always in the mood for a new on plan recipe. I found a neat blog, bethonadiet.com, that has a fun array of food. There was a recipe on there for peanut butter cheesecake and she said it was good. I have a lot of respect when she says its good since she actually blogged about something bad. Lol  Well, let me tell ya, it was definitely a keeper. Very yummy. It was  pretty easy and it was gorgeous. It made 8 huge slices, too. You can check her blog out, if you want good, healthy recipes.

sickness

Boy, have we had a lot of illness since right after Christmas. Brennan has had the worst mucous s problem I've ever seen. Gracelyn-Joys ran fever there weeks. We all had the flu, except Nathan, and Jack had an awful ear infection  that eventually needed meds, and roseola. We made it through.

Finn

In my last post I talked about going to see our new puppy. The first one we picked had a bad under bite, so I chose another cute puppy. His name is Finn. After scouring the web for a while and finding all the info I could about shichons, I decided that I would like to try one out. So Lee graciously allowed me to try one out since we had sold down to one dog anyways. I had a hard time finding one in my price range. I mean, they are a MIXED breed, after all. But the prices of some of these dogs reflect top quality AKC show dogs!! anyway, I found a breeder of small dogs, called, she sent pics, and we fell in love with a black and white teddy bear. Now, before you go on at me about all the dogs in the humane shelters, and puppy mills, etc, remember I know all that. I have rescued quite a few animals from there. Including our two cats. But this is America, and I don't see anything wrong with a local business.
     So meet Finn. About to be the newest member of the Dillard family. He will join Dixon and Breeze here. I have high hopes for the little guy. I am looking forward to Nate an I undertaking his training, and being able to share him with needy people. I know it will be happy, heartbreaking, and many other things. The next year will be tough. Finn and we will need to learn a lot of things He will need basic obedience, plus learn to not be afraid of anything that could come to us at a hospital or a nursing home or school. Then when we think he is ready, he will need to pass a 13 test exam. Things like not reacting when a metal pan crashes behind him, or being told to leave it when someone is offering him a yummy treat. It will be fun. And a perfect extra credit in homeschooling!!! But for now, we will just enjoy this puppy, take him to puppy class and get our homework done, and hope he has a calm disposition and a love for people.

 Awww, isn't he a cutie?? The breedr expects him to be around 10 pounds when grown.

Surprises make the world go round

January 2 2015. Lee took us all to Nashville, tn, for an overnight shopping trip. We got a late start because we were deciding weather to go or not. Brennan had a nasty cold. But I figured he would be stuffy anywhere we war, so we headed out. It seemed to take forever to get there. It was so cloudy, cold, and dreary. I was starting to feel bad too. That was surprise number 1. We got to the motel, Guest House Inn. There is a really great coupon here. I was so gird and hadn't had much sleep. But off to the mall we went. Of course I felt awful, but agreed to be happy so the kids would have a good time. They bought shirts at Under Armour. That's, sadly, about all we got. After leaving the incredibly crowded mall, we went to Santa Fe to eat. Oh, boy was that the highlight! We had ribs, steak, chicken, sweet taters, veggies, rolls, fish, and let me tell ya it was DELICIOUS! We headed back to the room for a very loooong  night. Brennan tossed and turned some, but it was my legs and feet that were hurting solo bad.
    Morning finally came, and with that, Shoney's  breakfast bar. Yum......
    After that, a highlight was going to see the new puppy we are getting. I know. Puppy?? You say?? Sadly, we are getting out of schnauzers. Looking into more calm dogs. Lol. So in my search for dogs for a lazy owner, the shichon, aka teddy bear. Or zuchon, came up. I researched a long while, everything I could find about this mixed breed. Its a cross between a Shi Tzu and  a bichon frise. I was hooked! A dog breed to be a handicap Childs pet. That's right. Up y alley. A very smart, fluffy, funny, couch potato. Get me a one!!! We found happy wonderful homes for two of our wild schnauzers. Matches truly made in heaven. Breeze of course has puppies. So I found a lady that a raises them in a price range I could handle. So this leads me back to the story.
    After breakfast we stopped by the breeds house to see the puppy and make sure He looked ok. Right off I realized he had an under bite. So I knew I didn't want him. Surprise number 2!
    The lady said she had a few more pups. So while she her helper went to get them, the lady gave Reece a ball of cream colored fluff. He sat in his lap for at least the next 40 minutes while we doted on other dogs. I didn't even pay any attention to it. After I settled on a new pup, the lady all of a sudden said, '' Can I give him that dog?'' I said, ''what?'' Then she began to tell me that she'd nevé seen him sit that still. They called him wild man. He was 15 weeks old, and he couldn't find a home because he wouldn't let people hold him he wS so wild. I told her I had just sold several. Wild dogs and didn't want another. She said  we could bring him back in two weeks, when we picked up the other pup, if it didn't work out.
    Astonishingly, lee said ok!!!! Well, long story short, he has been a good dog and he's not wild.

 

 

Schnauzer puppies

The pups are growing very fast! Noel, the first born, was the first to find a home. She is now Nia. Her new parents originally from Bulgaria. They have three kids. They came for a puppy visit yesterday. Of course the pups are petty boring at this age, lol. They also had their first solid food yesterday. It wont be long until they start playing!